That 'Meat First' label on your ₹3,000 bag might be a carefully crafted marketing illusion.
In India, labels must list ingredients by weight. Brands use this rule to trick you into thinking meat is the main star of the bag.
It is the practice of taking one filler—like corn—and breaking it into three names: Corn Gluten, Corn Flour, and Maize.
If each 'split' weighs less than the chicken, the chicken stays at #1. But combined? The corn often wins by a mile.
Fresh chicken is 70% water. Once cooked into kibble in the factory, it shrinks to just a fraction of its original weight.
Unlike meat, split ingredients like Pea Flour are already dry when weighed. They keep their volume while the meat disappears.
Buying grain-free in Bengaluru? Watch for: Peas, Pea Fibre, Pea Protein, and Pea Flour. That's not a meat feast; it's a pea salad.
Indian brands often list 'Maize' and 'Corn' on the same bag. It is the same filler, just split to stay lower on the list.
See 3 variations of the same plant in the top 10 ingredients? Mentally move that plant to the #1 spot immediately.
Look for 'Chicken Fat' or 'Oil.' Usually, everything listed BEFORE the first fat source is what actually fills the bag.
'Chicken Meal' has the water already removed. It provides more actual protein than 'Fresh Chicken' once the kibble is made.
Ingredient splitting lets brands charge premium prices for cheap fillers. Your pet's health shouldn't pay for their marketing margins.
See the full list of 'split' ingredients to avoid and learn which brands are actually transparent.